Q&A: Andrew Last, Hereford High's New Principal

Andrew Last, a former assistant principal at Dulaney High School, sat down with Cockeysville Patch to discuss his new role as Hereford High School's principal.

Cockeysville Patch: Can you tell us about your background as an educator?

Andrew Last: I came over from Dulaney, and before that I was at Hereford for three years as the chairman of world language until 2005. I [spent] four years at Parkville High School as a Spanish teacher. I [spent] one year in Costa Rica as a Spanish teacher at a private school. 

Before that, I [spent] six months as a Spanish teacher at the St. Paul's School for Girls in Brooklandville while another teacher was on maternity leave. Before that, I did four years part-time as a carpentry teacher at the Woodbourne Center, which is an open jail for children in Baltimore City. 

So you're talking about 15 years as a full-time teacher, and four years part-time.

Cockeysville Patch: What did you learn as an education administrator at Dulaney?

Last: As an instructional leader for the humanities division, which was English, social studies, world language [and] music, I learned to oversee adults in the educational world. 

Cockeysville Patch: You recently met with Hereford students to discuss your new role as principal. Can you talk to us about that?

Last: Yes, the only people that I really hadn't spoken to at length and wanted to talk to were the students. I wanted to know what they liked, and I also asked what they didn't like. 

I received a lot of feedback from those great kids. There's always things that can be improved. I just want to know what sort of school that they want, so I'm trying to communicate with them already.

Cockeysville Patch: What do you think of your predecessor, John Bereska?

Last: Educationally, we have very similar values in terms of what is good education and what is not. We have similar values as to the importance of the student athlete. Then again, obviously, I'm a different human being, so culture does change with a different human being coming in. 

I do have a lot of respect for the arts and for theater. I know that in the past, Hereford used to have a tremendous theater program. The venue was always packed whenever we had a play in the auditorium. 

I have goals in that direction. I'm very keen on making sure that all of these kids in this building, even if they're not athletes, their skills and talents are able to shine in other areas.